Come explore real-life ghost stories and other paranormal mysteries at the library…if you dare! They’re shelved together at the very start of the non-fiction section – look for the 001s and 133s or ask a staff member to point the way.

In July and August 2013, Todd Parr will be dropping in to many Oakland Public Library locations to read and draw with kids. Mr. Parr is the author and illustrator of dozens of books for children.

All of his Oakland Public Library appearances will include a short read-aloud and tips on how to draw. Additionally, a free, healthy lunch will be served to youths ages 0–18, as part of the Free Summer Lunch Program held at many Oakland Library locations. Free Summer Lunch is provided by the Alameda County Food Bank in partnership with the City of Oakland.

Mr. Parr suggested the series of appearances as a gesture of support for Free Summer Lunch and the Library’s Summer Reading Program. Mr. Parr is donating his time free of charge. Come see him at:

You can celebrate at home or at your library! Free resources at the Caldecott 75th Anniversary webpage include downloadable bookmarks with clues and answers about the special anniversary logo created by Brian Selznick, and pictured here. Can you identify the 10 Caldecott honored titles pictured in the logo? (The answers are here.)

Want to discover a library secret? Go ahead and take a trip to the 782 section of the children’s nonfiction shelves and you’ll discover something amazing. Hidden treasures! Picture books that are meant to be SUNG! Some are traditional, others are silly – but all are crowdpleasing. Here are a few recommendations to warm up your singing voice:

Have you seen the gardening containers in the front of the Main Library's Children's Room? This summer we have a special series of gardening programs for children on Thursdays. Acta Non Verba; Youth Urban Farm Project is teaching us about soil, seeds, bugs and more.

In addition to the programming, we also have a new shelf full of gardening books for children. Come to the Main Library Children's Room to both garden and learn about gardening.

Programs are mostly on Thursdays at 3:00. This week the program will be today (Tuesday) at 3:00. The topic is Weed or Plant? How are weeds and plants different?

Look at some of the activities! You too could be part of the fun. Come on by!

Manny Hernandez is a Library Aide who works in several locations, including the Main Library Children's Room. Library Aides are the backbone of your library: they touch every book checked in and out in the whole system, and are often the first smiling face you see. But let's hear about it from Manny.

What brought you to the Main Library Children’s Room?

I was drawn to the Main library Children’s Room because it was my local childhood library growing up in the Lake Merritt area. My career goal is to become a children’s librarian and what better place to receive experience, guidance and motivation.

Give us an example of what a day at work looks like for you?

On regular day at work I have assigned duties which consist of organizing and shelving books. Doesn’t sound too interesting does it? You’ll be surprised. Library Aides work hands-on with all sorts of books. Some books are historical, others are humorous; a day at work gets pretty exciting not knowing what cool books you will encounter next. At work I also help create new library cards. Now this is where all the fun begins. Everyone loves library cards, especially children. I am the lucky guy who gets to observe their reaction after handing them their very first library card. I’ve seen screaming, jumping, running, laughter, smiling, all sorts of fun reactions that make me look forward to coming to work every day.

What is your favorite thing about the Main Library Children’s Room?

My favorite thing about the Children’s Room has to be its wonderful collection of juvenile books. There is a humongous variety of awesome books, very rare for a patron to leave this branch with just one book in hand. Browsing the shelves easily turns into a stack of books in your hands. So if you’re ever in the area swing by and check the branch out and don’t forget to say HELLO!

Where is your favorite place to visit in Oakland?

Lake Merritt is my absolute favorite place to visit. It is the heart of Oakland and a symbol of peace and a great place to spend a day out in the sun.

What’s your favorite book?

This is a very difficult question to answer but hands down my favorite book is Dog Breath. Author Dav Pilkey uses humor to tell a heroic story of a special dog named Hally Tosis who has a unique smell. So if you’re curious about Hally’s unique stinky smell and ready to hold your nose, then give this book a try. I give this book two thumps up!

What’s your favorite food?

I am a food fanatic, love eating. As a matter of fact I’m probably eating right now, but there is one plate that seats at the very top of my food pyramid. A grilled Alaskan salmon, with a side of steamed rice marinated in butter. This plate is my weak spot and a very good way to make me your best friend.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever seen in a library?

In summer 2011, OPL partnered with the City of Oakland and the Alameda County Food Bank to provide meals for children during the summer. The craziest thing I’ve ever seen was a line of around 75 hungry children waiting patiently at the Cesar Chavez branch to be served free lunch. This line looped around the entire library, it was a remarkable sight and crazy moment I will never forget.

It’s not always easy finding the right books to place in the hands of brand new readers. Letting kiddos choose their own books is a surefire strategy for creating excitement about reading – you can use the five finger rule to decide if a book is too hard for a child. If you want some tried and true favorites, take a look at the Geisel Award winners and mosey on over to your library to find these awesome early readers!:

Artists from the Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA) will continue their workshops at eight branches this summer! See below for the schedules. These weekly programs for preschool up to middle school students have been very popular for the past two years. Each week brings a different art project: sculpture, weaving, painting, collage. Children always leave with art in hand.

This Saturday kids turned out all over Oakland to help kick-off the Summer Reading Program. Bubble-parties at many branches let families enjoy the sunshine with each other and their books, and a bike meet-up at the Main Library pedaled over to the West Oakland branch to enjoy an incredible Scraper Bike workshop with Tyrone "Baybe Champ" Stevenson.

What's next? Check out the listings for your favorite performers and activites, or look to see what's happening this week at your branch. Branch libraries are closed today, Tuesday June 18th, for the last City of Oakland Mandatory Business Closure Day of the fiscal year; but will reopen on Wednesday, when many of them will start serving Summer Free Lunch for kids and teens. (The Main Library is open Tuesday).